Based on the numbers, you would think Joe Johnson was providing the help, what with his .604 shooting from the field, .667 shooting on 3-pointers and 14-point scoring average in his five games with the Miami Heat.

And yet what has most impressed the recently added former All-Star is how the entire locker room has stepped up to ease his transition, including seldom-used Udonis Haslem.

"I think the great veteran group that we have, it definitely helps," Johnson, 34, said. "U.D. helps out more than you could even imagine, even though he's not out there on the court."

After initially telling Johnson to play on instinct, the Heat have methodically begun to expose him to the playbook.

"I'm about 65, 70 percent there," he said of learning the Heat's sets. "Offensively, it's simple. We really don't have a lot of play calls. We just kind of play off instincts and obviously a lot of pick and rolls. So it's not that complicated. But at certain spots you've got be in at times, I screw 'em up from time to time. I'm just playing through it."

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That's why coach Erik Spoelstra said moments like Tuesday's practice at AmericanAirlines Arena are so embraced.

"It'll give us a chance to incorporate Joe a little more," he said. "But also build back some of the habits. We haven't had a lot of practice time."

And there may not be much in the ensuing days, with the Heat to open a three-game trip Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks, a trip that concludes with a Friday-Saturday back-to-back set against the Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors.

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For now, the Heat are 5-0 since Johnson's arrival, albeit against a relatively soft schedule that has included two games against the Philadelphia 76ers, one against the New York Knicks, one against the Phoenix Suns and one against the Bulls.

"Obviously it's going to happen," Johnson said of a first loss with the Heat, after more than his share previously with the Brooklyn Nets. "But we're playing great basketball.

"But not only that, we've got some huge tests ahead of us now. We've had some challenges throughout these five games I've played. But the tests will come this upcoming week. So these are the things that we're trying to prepare for."

It leaves him in a better place than Brooklyn.

"It's fun, competing night in and night out, and you know this late in the season that you're playing for something," he said. "This is where you want to be."

Big threes

Although Goran Dragic (3 of 4) and Johnson (2 of 2) took care of most of the Heat's 3-point shooting in Sunday's 103-98 victory over the 76ers, Spoelstra said the consecutive fourth-quarter 3-pointers from rookies Josh Richardson and Justise Winslow that erased a six-point deficit were particularly significant.

"Our two young guys knocked down two big threes, stepped up under pressure, in a matter of less than two minutes the game was tied again," Spoelstra said. "So it was good to see those guys step up and guys have confidence in them."

Perspective sought

Spoelstra said the Heat's five-game winning streak guarantees nothing on the upcoming trip.

"You can feel confidence from one game to another, and then as you start to play multiple games in a row, that confidence can grow," he said. "I love that. But wins do not guarantee anything the next time you play."

Wade said playing from behind Sunday offered the Heat a challenge that could provide dividends.

"I think for this team, all this is good," he said. "Everything we go through right now is good for us as we try to put ourselves in position for the playoffs. You need to go through a lot of different situations."

iwinderman@tribpub.com. Follow him at twitter.com/iraheatbeat or facebook.com/ira.winderman